Yes We Did!
Everyone concurs…it is the “ground game” that made the difference. It was the dedication of thousands of volunteers and campaign staffers–who put careers and education on hold and temporarily moved from homes across the nation–that turned Indiana blue! Read on for reflections from some of those volunteers and field organizers.
The Movement Begins
Our journey together began in February, 2008, when a few of us joined a local Meetup group (meetup.com) supporting Senator Barack Obama, just after he announced his candidacy for President of the Unites States. Our online group continued to grow, and we decided to meet. Our first meeting was held on February 20th at the Evansville Library, and was facilitated by RJ Champion and DeLyn Chapman. We were so energized and fired up that we met the following week as well, on February 27th at the library “on the west side,” the Red Bank Branch Library. It was at that meeting that we decided on our name, “Evansville Tri-State for Obama.”
We didn’t slow down. We met again on March 13th at Evansville Central Library, for what turned out to be our most exciting gathering yet! An estimated 150 “change agents” gathered that night to commit to work together to bring about change in our communities and our nation!
On March 22nd, we gathered again at the library, where we were joined by campaign staff members, Nathan Williams and Sarah Davis. They took our journey to another level…
Sarah Davis Reflects…
Prior to the campaign, I lived in Seattle and worked at Starbucks Coffee HQ as a Supply Chain Analyst. During the primaries, I would walk from work and head to the Obama HQ to volunteer. Sometimes I would enter data or make calls, but usually I was the Delois of the Seattle office. I sat up front and directed people to their Field Organizer or answered their questions about caucusing. In Seattle, there was a steady flow of people coming in the door all the time (it’s a pretty liberal city after all!). After the primary was over, Nathan suggested I come along on the campaign trail. I thought we would win in Texas and Hillary would drop out so I said yes and packed a whole summer wardrobe. I knocked on doors for about a week and a half, all day and every day, and then the results came in. We lost Texas and would be moving on to Mississippi. I had to decide whether to quit my job, and Nathan made the choice clear: “Do you want to tell your grandchildren that you shipped coffee beans around the country or helped to save the free world?” So, I continued on, as a VOLUNTEER, through Mississippi and arrived in Indiana just about a year ago. Thankfully, I was hired in Indiana by the campaign and loved every minute of it!
Obviously, Barack had a big role in motivating me to join the campaign. But, honestly, the bigger factor was seeing the excitement people had over this election. Our country was alive again and everyday people were engaged in civic duty and politics again. Hopefully, Barack’s legacy will include universal health care and a repaired economy but I think one of his biggest successes will be the way he helped to connect people with their government.
I have so many great campaign memories. My most memorable time, the time I think I impacted the campaign the most, was in Evansville as a Field Organizer. I remember calling up Clark, DeLyn, Amy, Wendy… you know, the gang, and asking them to canvass… and during those last few weeks we were going all the time. It felt like such a family when we all sat and listened to Nathan’s speech about not looking back on Election Day. I suppose Birch Bayh telling the story of pulling Ted Kennedy from the burning plane is up there too; and how Birch and Estelle embraced. Oh, and waiting outside in the cold FOREVER with DeLyn to meet Barack. If it was not for DeLyn, I would not have met the Big Guy in person. We even got to talk to David Axelrod. And, of course, Angela Riddle’s chocolate cake cannot be forgotten. The list goes on. Tearing up here…
Since the election, I’ve been in Seattle…cooking and going for walks along the waterfront near our house. I am waiting for a call to work for the government in some way… I hope it comes soon! Seriously, I’ve had a few interviews, some in the private sector. Nothing concrete yet, but hopefully I’ll get to continue down the path of affecting change in this world.
I miss you all!!! Contact me at: sarahanndavis@gmail.com or through Facebook.
